Title
Assessment of nerve agent exposure: existiting and emerging methods
Author
TNO Defensie en Veiligheid
Langenberg, J.P.
van der Schans, M.J.
Noort, D.
Publication year
2009
Abstract
The perceived threat of the use of nerve agents by terrorists against civilian targets implies the need for methods for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis. This review presents an overview of methods that are currently available for the assessment of exposure to nerve agents. Since these methods are mostly MS based, they require complex and expensive equipment and well-trained personnel and, consequently, they are not very suitable for rapid POC diagnosis. However, new technologies are emerging that allow, among others, immunochemical detection of acetylcholinesterase inhibited by nerve agents. Also, lab-on-a-chip methodologies are under development. It is anticipated that MS methods will be suitable for POC diagnosis within a few years, due to the miniaturization of equipment and the emergence of methodologies that enable mass spectrometric analysis with little sample pretreatment and that are potentially fieldable, such as direct analysis in real time and desorption electrospray ionization MS.
Subject
Analytic sample preparation methods
Chemical warfare agents
Cholinesterase inhibitor analysis
Computer systems
Electronics
Environmental exposure
Hospital information system
Human
Immunoassay
Instrumentation
Lab on a chip
Lab-on-a-chip devices
Limit of detection
Mass spectrometry
Methodology
Miniaturization
Point-of-care systems
Review
Cholinesterase inhibitors
Analysis
Analytic sample preparation methods
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ce17d5ee-4ef0-44b9-9fe6-3c4a02052fc0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4155/bio.09.57
TNO identifier
27800
Publisher
Future Science Ltd
Source
Bioanalysis, 1 (1)
Document type
article